A new method to reconstruct eroded paleotopographies using mass balance principle.

Abstract

Backward modelling of erosion is not straightforward because erosion is a diﬀusive phenomenon. We implement a surface method that produces paleotopographies from eroded formations and sediment geometries. Our method integrates sediments observed at basin scale and reassigns them in their watershed using mass balance principle. Since data available to build a model of a whole sedimentary basin are scarce, the possibility to reassign sediment from the border of the model (outlets) or on the whole surface has been added. Several corrections, such as decompaction are also implemented. To assess the quality of the obtained results, we implemented a simple forward erosion - deposition algorithm. The obtained eroded structures are then reconstructed. Initial and reconstructed surfaces are compared. The results conﬁrm the fact that erosion, which is a diﬀusive phenomenon, causes a loss of information and is impossible to invert directly using mathematical formulas. Several parameters for inversion have been tested but none of them allows to reach the initial topography from a sedimentary model.

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BibTeX Reference

@INPROCEEDINGS{GodefroyGM2014,
author = { Godefroy, Gabriel and Caumon, Guillaume and Chauvin, Benjamin P. },
title = { A new method to reconstruct eroded paleotopographies using mass balance principle. },
booktitle = { Proc. 34th Gocad Meeting, Nancy },
year = { 2014 },
abstract = { Backward modelling of erosion is not straightforward because erosion is a diﬀusive phenomenon. We implement a surface method that produces paleotopographies from eroded formations and sediment geometries. Our method integrates sediments observed at basin scale and reassigns them in their watershed using mass balance principle. Since data available to build a model of a whole sedimentary basin are scarce, the possibility to reassign sediment from the border of the model (outlets) or on the whole surface has been added. Several corrections, such as decompaction are also implemented. To assess the quality of the obtained results, we implemented a simple forward erosion - deposition algorithm. The obtained eroded structures are then reconstructed. Initial and reconstructed surfaces are compared. The results conﬁrm the fact that erosion, which is a diﬀusive phenomenon, causes a loss of information and is impossible to invert directly using mathematical formulas. Several parameters for inversion have been tested but none of them allows to reach the initial topography from a sedimentary model. }
}